SpaceX Launches, Ready to Pick Up NASA Astronauts Trapped in Space

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia –NASA and SpaceX successfully launched an important mission on Friday (3/14/2025) night, sending four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). This mission is not just an ordinary crew rotation, but also part of an effort to bring home two United States astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who have been trapped on the ISS for 9 months due to technical problems with the vehicle that was supposed to bring them back.

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket took off from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, at 19:03 local time. NASA’s central control welcomed the success of this launch with applause, especially after the rocket passed all its stages without any significant obstacles.

This mission carries four replacement astronauts for the ISS, namely Kirill Peskov from the Russian space agency Roscosmos, Nichole Ayers and Anne McClain from NASA, and Takuya Onishi from the Japanese space agency JAXA.

During the journey, each astronaut gave a speech from inside the spacecraft, conveying their hopes for the future of space exploration and international cooperation in science.

According to the schedule, Crew-10 will arrive at the ISS on Saturday night, after a journey of about 28 hours.

Rescue Mission

Wilmore and Williams are experienced astronauts and former US Navy test pilots who flew to the ISS using Boeing’s Starliner capsule in June last year.

Initially, they were only scheduled to stay for eight days. However, serious problems with the Starliner’s propulsion system led NASA to decide not to use the vehicle on the return journey, as it was considered too risky.

As a result, the Starliner returned to Earth without a crew last September, while Wilmore and Williams had to remain on the ISS until their replacements arrived.

After carrying out the handover of duties, Wilmore and Williams are scheduled to return to Earth on March 19 using a safer vehicle.

This launch was delayed from the original schedule, which was planned for last Wednesday. Problems with the rocket’s ground system led NASA and SpaceX to decide to postpone the launch in order to ensure the safety of the mission.

However, on Friday night, all parameters indicated optimal conditions for liftoff. Launch commentators confirmed that all systems were in order, allowing the Falcon 9 to launch as planned.

SOURCE : CNBC INDONESIA